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West Papua – The Forgotten Independence Movement

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 26 June 2026 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

West Papua – the sixty-year insurgency you’ve never heard of.


Why is it that Australia has continued to overlook the independence struggle of West Papua?

The Cafe of Dangerous Ideas will look at the short film “West Papua – the 60-year insurgency you’ve never heard of” and then hear from Jacob Rumbiak – active in the exiled government of West Papua, in conversation with Robert Stringer.

Join us as we learn more about the ongoing independence movement in West Papua.

No bookings necessary – just turn up.

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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Working with Street Sex Workers

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 24 April 2026 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

At our next Cafe of Dangerous Ideas, we’ll be hearing from Andie Patchett about the work of the St Kilda Gatehouse.

The Gatehouse is a not-for-profit organisation which works alongside those reliant on street-based sex work due to hardship or child sexual exploitation.

By providing a safe place of belonging and engagement, St Kilda Gatehouse helps individuals address complex traumas such as domestic and family violence, drug use and addiction, homelessness, poverty, mental health challenges and social isolation. It is a place where individuals feel valued and important.

For many who come from challenging backgrounds it is a source of dignity and hope.

Andie will talk to us about how she became involved in this work and about the ongoing challenges of sex work in her local area.

No bookings necessary – just turn up.

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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Meet the Moderator

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 27 March 2026 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

We’re going to spend an evening talking to Salesi Faupula – the current Moderator of the Uniting Church in Victoria/Tasmania.

Born in Tonga, Salesi’s family moved to Australia when he was a baby and he spent his first 10 years in the Yirrkala Aboriginal mission in the Northern Territory.

From there the family moved to Sydney, a time in which Salesi wrestled with his identity, as Tongan born but living in middle class, predominantly white Australia.

It was a move back to Tonga, where a college place was arranged for him, that proved to be a turning point for Salesi. “In Tonga, they are a deeply religious people, so on a Sunday everything stops and everyone goes to church, and I think I came back with this re-found faith,” he says.

He is, he admits, a “colourful mess” when asked how he would describe himself: Tongan-born, Australian-raised and with a deep connection to indigenous Australians.

No bookings necessary – just turn up.

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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Playing God in our National Parks

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 28 November 2025 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

Professor Mike Clarke will be presenting ideas for confronting climate change in our national parks.

Mike is an ecologist and conservation biologist at La Trobe University. He was Head of the School of Life Sciences from 2011 to 2019 and conducts research that informs conservation action on threatened species and threatening processes, especially fire, in national parks around Victoria.

He was the Convener of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act to the Victorian Minister for the Environment for five years. In 2010, he was an expert witness in fire ecology at the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. In 2023 he completed a term as a member of the Board of Directors of Parks Victoria. He is actively involved in ensuring conservation policy and practice is based on the best available evidence.

He is fascinated by the natural world and passionate about its proper stewardship for future generations.

No bookings necessary – just turn up.

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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All Things Death

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 31 October 2025 at 7.30pm

Heidelberg Scots Uniting Church

187 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

Join us for our annual discussion of all things about death:

How do you organise a funeral?

Try a coffin on for size!

What happens if you go into hospital and you don’t want treatment?

The Cafe of Dangerous Ideas is here for you to ask all the questions – so come along on Friday the 31 October (Halloween) at 7.30pm and talk death with us.

No bookings necessary – just turn up.

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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Church as a Swamp

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 19 September 2025 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

Any of us who have close affiliation with the Uniting Church will know the constant narrative: a story about how the church is changing.

In this session, with some stories and group sharing, we will explore the idea of Church as a Swamp: the question to us is how healthy is that swamp?

Our guest speaker is Ian David, a minister in placement at Fairfield Uniting Church… He’s never done anything really dangerous, let alone had a dangerous thought… but he did find this quote…
“Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his (sic) spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian Community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature.” from Life Together – Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Join us for a deep dive as we assess the Church as Swamp.

No bookings necessary – just turn up.

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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Neurodiversity

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 29 August 2025 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

Neurodivergence is an umbrella term that encompasses any variation of brain wiring that significantly differs from what is typical brain functioning.

Dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, tic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sensory processing disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and many more brain-based differences all fall under the neurodiversity banner, but ADHD and autism seem to be getting much of the airtime on social media.

What difference does it make? How do we engage with, learn from and enjoy the variety that neurodiversity offers us in the way we think and act?

Join us as we hear from Glen Wesley in his engagement with neurodiversity at the Cafe of Dangerous Ideas.

No bookings necessary – just turn up.

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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Is Australia a Welcoming Country?

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 27 June 2025 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

Australia sees itself as a welcoming country. But what do recent arrivals think?

Join us as we hear what it feels like to arrive in the lucky country as an immigrant or refugee.

We’ll be helped in our discussions by Mursal Sadat – a member of the Afghan national women’s soccer team. 

No bookings necessary – just turn up!

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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Somalians in Banyule

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 30 May 2025 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

Banyule has a substantial Somali population, so come and meet a spokesperson for the community.

You will learn more about the people, the country and the history of the land.

No bookings necessary – just turn up!

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page

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Trans Spiritual Joy

The Diversity, History & Controversy in Spiritual Communities

Cafe of Dangerous Ideas

Friday 25 April 2025 at 7.30pm

Sycamore Tree Cafe

185 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg

What does it mean to be transgender in a spiritual setting?

What gifts do trans folk bring to these spaces?

And how does a trans identity expand our conception of what we see as Divine?

Come along and join us as we talk with trans people about their experience of faith and spirituality in society today.

Café of Dangerous Ideas Facebook Page